"What you need to know about Beijing’s crackdown on its “low-end population”", 27 Nov 2017

Tens of thousands of migrant workers are being forced out of their homes in Beijing under a citywide clean-up campaign in the aftermath of a fire that killed over a dozen people…In response to the tragedy, the Beijing government…kicked off 40 days of citywide safety inspections, with a particular focus on warehouses, rental compounds, wholesale markets, and other constructions on the rural-urban fringes across Beijing. The campaign aims to demolish illegal dwellings on short notice, effectively leaving thousands of people living in Beijing’s outskirts homeless overnight. …

Nonprofits have swung into action to take in those who are forced out of their homes, but their voluntary services are mostly thwarted by police. Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has informed its migrant-worker couriers that the company will provide them with temporary housing and vehicles to move their belongings, if they have been displaced from their homes, according to a text message circulated online. And more than 100 Chinese intellectuals have signed a petition letter urging the Beijing government to stop using safety checks as an excuse to evict migrant workers from the city…